Streaming
Streaming is the consumer category that replaced linear TV and home video over the last decade - Netflix, Disney+, Max, Peacock, Paramount+, Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Hulu. After a decade of land-grab spending, the cycle has flipped to profitability, with password-sharing crackdowns, ad-supported tiers, sports rights bidding wars and bundling now defining how the major services compete for screen time. Linear pay-TV continues to shed subscribers, FAST channels are pulling cord-cutters back into ad-supported viewing, and live sports has become the single most contested content category.
It spans subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), ad-supported tiers (AVOD) and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST), live sports streaming, hybrid bundles built around legacy pay-TV, niche and creator-led streaming services, international and regional SVOD, and connected-TV platforms that aggregate the apps.
Revenue comes from monthly subscription fees across price tiers, advertising revenue on ad-supported tiers and FAST channels, sports rights monetisation, licensing of content libraries to third parties, and increasing platform revenue on connected TV operating systems (Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Samsung Tizen).
Streaming is part of Digital media.
$131B
Global market size
76
Public companies
Key VC investors
Key strategic buyers
How streaming companies monetize?
Streaming companies monetize through SVOD subscriptions, ad-supported tiers and sports rights deals.
SVOD subscriptions
Monthly fees across premium, standard and basic-with-ads tiers. The headline revenue line for Netflix, Disney+, Max, Paramount+ and Apple TV+.
Ad-supported tiers (AVOD)
Lower-priced or free tiers monetised through advertising. Netflix's ad tier launched 2022; Disney+, Max, Peacock and Prime Video all run ad-supported variants today.
FAST channels
Free ad-supported streaming TV - linear-style channels delivered over the internet. Pluto TV (Paramount), Tubi (Fox), Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus and LG Channels anchor the category.
Sports rights monetisation
Premium subscription plus pay-per-view on live sports. NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube, Apple's MLS Season Pass and Amazon Thursday Night Football are reference deals; DAZN runs a pure-play sports SVOD.
Content licensing
Library and original content licensed to third-party services for windowed distribution. Warner Bros Discovery, Sony Pictures Television and NBCUniversal monetise libraries this way.
Bundling and partnerships
Cross-bundles between streamers (Disney+/Hulu/Max), distribution through telcos and retailers, and credit-card bundle inclusion. Lowers CAC and reduces churn on bundled subscribers.
Streaming valuations in May 2026
Public streaming comps trade at 1.4x EV/Revenue. Median revenue multiple across streaming M&A deals was 1.4x in the last 12 months. Median revenue multiple across streaming VC rounds was 20x in the last 12 months.
1.4x
Median EV/Revenue as of May 2026 for public streaming companies
12x
Alphabet is the highest valued public streaming company based on EV/Revenue (excluding outliers)
1.4x
Median EV/Revenue across streaming M&A deals in the last 12 months
20x
Median EV/Revenue across streaming VC rounds in the last 12 months
Streaming market segments
Streaming spans major SVOD platforms, FAST and AVOD services, and live sports streaming.
Major SVOD platforms
The scale subscription services anchoring most household streaming budgets. Netflix is the standalone leader; Disney+ (with Hulu and ESPN+), Max (Warner Bros Discovery), Prime Video (Amazon) and Apple TV+ form the rest of the front rank.
Ad-supported and FAST
Ad-supported streaming has scaled into a meaningful channel. Tubi (Fox), Pluto TV (Paramount), Peacock, Freevee (Amazon) and Roku Channel anchor the free side; ad tiers on Netflix and Disney+ have crossed 100M global users combined.
Live sports streaming
Sports has become the most contested rights category in streaming. DAZN, ESPN+, Amazon Prime (Thursday Night Football), Apple TV+ (MLS, MLB) and YouTube TV (NFL Sunday Ticket) are anchor buyers.
Music and audio streaming-adjacent
Audio streamers have moved into long-form video. Spotify hosts video podcasts and music videos; YouTube Music sits inside YouTube Premium; Amazon Music bundles with Prime Video.
Regional and international SVOD
Local-language services with strong domestic positioning. Sky/NOW (Comcast) in the UK, JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar in India, iQIYI and Tencent Video in China, and Globoplay in Brazil.
Niche and creator-led streaming
Vertical and creator-owned services. Crunchyroll (Sony) for anime, Shudder (AMC) for horror, MUBI for art-house, Dropout (College Humor) and Nebula for creator-led video.
CTV platforms
Operating systems and storefronts on the TV itself. Roku and Amazon Fire TV lead in the US; Samsung Tizen, LG webOS and Google TV anchor smart-TV distribution globally.
Linear pay-TV in transition
Cable and satellite operators (Comcast, Charter, Sky, DirecTV) running off and migrating customers into streaming bundles. The shrinking but still material base that funds much of US sports rights.
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Key streaming KPIs to track
Paid subscribers, ARPU, churn and content amortisation are the metrics investors track in streaming.
| KPI | Definition |
|---|---|
| Paid subscribers | Total paying subscribers across price tiers. The headline scale metric every major SVOD reports quarterly (Netflix has ~280M as of 2025). |
| ARPU | Average revenue per user, blended across tiers and regions. Netflix runs ~$17 in the US/Canada, materially lower in APAC and LatAm; ad-tier launch shifts the mix. |
| Churn | Monthly subscriber churn. Streaming churn is structurally higher than pay-TV (3-6% monthly for most US services) due to ease of cancellation; bundling is the principal lever. |
| Hours streamed | Total content hours watched, usually measured at the household level. Drives ad inventory on AVOD tiers and informs Nielsen-equivalent measurement (The Gauge). |
| Content amortisation | Capitalised content spend amortised over expected useful life. The single largest cost line at most streamers; the disclosure investors track most closely. |
| Operating margin | Netflix runs at 25%+ operating margin as of 2024; Disney+ and Max have moved into profitability; Paramount+ and Peacock still losing money on the streaming line. |
| Subscriber acquisition cost | Marketing spend per net add. Has compressed materially as the major services pulled back on growth-at-all-costs spending after 2022. |
| Ad revenue and CPM | Total advertising revenue and cost per thousand impressions on AVOD and FAST tiers. CPM disclosure remains thin but the metric drives the ad-tier strategy at every major service. |
Main streaming players globally
The most active streaming companies and category leaders globally.
| Company | HQ | Overview |
|---|---|---|
Netflix netflix.com |  Los Gatos | Largest standalone SVOD service globally (NASDAQ: NFLX). Around 280M paid subscribers; ad tier launched 2022; first sustained profitability cycle now in place. |
Disney (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+) disneyplus.com | Burbank | Disney's direct-to-consumer streaming portfolio (NYSE: DIS). Disney+ globally, Hulu and ESPN+ in the US; bundled and now integrated into a single Disney+/Hulu/ESPN app. |
Warner Bros Discovery (Max) max.com | New York | Max is the merged HBO Max plus Discovery+ service (NASDAQ: WBD). Formed by the 2022 WarnerMedia-Discovery combination; ad and ad-free tiers, sports tier with Bleacher Report add-on. |
Comcast (Peacock) peacocktv.com | Philadelphia | NBCUniversal's streaming service (NASDAQ: CMCSA). Sunday Night Football, Premier League and Big Ten anchor sports; large free tier shut down 2023 to focus on paid. |
Paramount (Paramount+, Pluto TV) paramountplus.com | New York | Paramount Global's streaming portfolio (NASDAQ: PARA). Paramount+ on the SVOD side, Pluto TV the FAST anchor; merger with Skydance closed 2024-2025 under David Ellison. |
Amazon Prime Video primevideo.com | Seattle | Streaming bundled into Amazon Prime (NASDAQ: AMZN). Thursday Night Football, NBA from 2025-26, the Lord of the Rings franchise and the Freevee FAST service. |
Apple TV+ tv.apple.com | Cupertino | Apple's premium streaming service (NASDAQ: AAPL). Smaller library, prestige-led originals; MLS Season Pass and Friday Night Baseball anchor sports. |
DAZN dazn.com |  London | Sports-only SVOD service. Owned by Access Industries (Len Blavatnik); strong in Italian Serie A, Bundesliga, boxing and combat sports. |
Roku roku.com | San Jose | CTV operating system and platform (NASDAQ: ROKU). Roku Channel is one of the largest FAST services; platform revenue (ads, distribution) drives the business. |
Tencent Video / iQIYI v.qq.com |  Shenzhen | Chinese SVOD scale leaders. Tencent Video sits inside Tencent (HKEX: 0700); iQIYI (NASDAQ: IQ) listed separately, controlled by Baidu. |
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Key streaming market trends
Password-sharing crackdowns, ad-supported tiers and sports rights bidding wars are reshaping streaming right now.
Password-sharing crackdown across the board
Netflix rolled out paid sharing globally in 2023 and added 13M paid subscribers in the first quarter post-launch. Disney+, Max and Hulu followed in 2024; the household-only model is now standard.
Ad-supported tiers become the default
Netflix ad tier crossed 70M monthly active users in 2024; Disney+ Basic with Ads, Max with Ads and Peacock Premium dominate net adds. Ad-tier ARPU is approaching or exceeding ad-free at scale.
Sports rights as the new battleground
NBA's $76B 11-year deal (2024) split across Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon; NFL splits Thursdays (Amazon), Sundays (YouTube TV) and Christmas Day (Netflix). Apple, Amazon and Netflix have moved from optional bidders to anchor buyers.
Consolidation and bundling
Paramount-Skydance closed 2025; Disney+/Hulu/Max bundle launched 2024; Comcast's NBCU Versant spin-off announced 2024. Bundles are the principal churn-reduction lever for the next cycle.
FAST and AVOD scaling fast
Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku Channel and Freevee continue to grow ad revenue double-digits. The Gauge (Nielsen) shows FAST and AVOD viewing now exceeding cable in some weeks; Tubi crossed $1B revenue in 2024.
AI in content production and personalisation
Generative video (OpenAI Sora, Runway, Google Veo) entering pre-production and VFX workflows. AI dubbing (Eleven Labs, Deepdub) localising libraries faster; personalised thumbnails and trailers now standard at Netflix.
Similar verticals to streaming
Explore niches like learning platforms, music, SportsTech and EventsTech.
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